LibGuides: Locating Sources: Library Databases

What is a Database?

Google is a search engine. Libraries subscribe to Databases. Although you use both to search, they are very different things.

Library databases consist of a limited collection of records for academic journals, newspapers, and magazine articles. Within these databases the library has access to full-text versions of articles, as well as others we can only see the record/citation.
Some databases are general and contain articles from a wide variety of disciplines. Others specialize in particular subjects where all the records relate to one subject.
The library subscribes to databases provided by some of the biggest providers including EBSCOhost, ProQuest and Gale.

Start your search with these popular databases:

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
General database of academic journals in the sciences and humanities. Includes full text scholarly / peer-reviewed articles.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Academic journals in the humanities. This database has the full text from over 250 journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Specific disciplines covered include history, political science, sociology, art, art history, language and
literature.
Proquest Databases and Newspapers This link opens in a new window
A list of ProQuest databases subscribed to by CCC.
Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
Now called Gale eBooks.
Multidisciplinary database of full text encyclopedias and reference sources for research and ready reference. Enables one search that covers all sources. Subjects include arts, sciences, medicine, and the humanities.

This video explains how an individual's idea turns into an article that ends up in a searchable database